Well...I'm back in Lesotho, which means my vaca is OVER...sigh...
But GOOD NEWS! It was AMAZING. Here's what happened...
First, I went to the lowlands (Mafeteng) to stay with my friend Melissa on Christmas Eve (which is where I was last year for those of you keeping track). We had a blast getting all excited for CT...highlights of that visit being watching Melissa get her head straight razored...SO funny.
We met Elissa, Jessica, Mike, and Evan at the border and set off for Bloemfontein where we would catch the bus on Christmas Night. Everything was closed at the mall so we obviously had to take advantage of an empty mall to take funny photos with their xmas decorations...Eventually we all split up and saw some movies to kill time (also to splurge because thats what we do). The bus ride was long (12 hours) but not too bad. When we finally got to Cape Town it was awesome. Big buildings, lights, people, sidewalks...We spent the first day walking around. It was technically a national holiday so not that much was open. We did have this SUPER good Mexican food. I feel like this would be a good time to inform you all that food is going to come up ALOT in this post, to put it into context for you, there is VERY LITTLE ethnic food in Lesotho so we get REALLY excited about variety. The next day Jess, Elissa and I want to Stellenbosch.
Stellenbosch is the hub of the SA wine region. Our first day we went on a 6 hour wine tour. Fun times all around. We even created our own 5 star rating system. We also learned some tips to be snobby when drinking wine in public (ex. you don't "smell" or "sniff" wine, you "nose" it). The best part of the day was this one winery with cheese...I can't even describe to you how delicious the cheeses were..in particular was this one goat/cow cream cheese wrapped in garlic and herbs...OMG. Needless to say we all bought some lol. Stellenbosch was a cute little city/town (kind of like Gloucester is a "city" but is much more like a "town").
When I got back to CT I went with the girls to the V&A Waterfront...aka a huge mall by the ocean. Ohhh developement....
One really cool thing to see in CT is the Bo Kaap. The Bo Kaap is a tradtionally Muslim neighborhood built in the 1870s (I think..) and all the buildings/houses are painted different colors. After visiting the museum we realized that there is really no reason for doing so..which is sort of anti-climactic but still a site to see. Ok. So many of you know I was going to Shark Diving...sigh...I did. However, I happened to be on only the second tour that year to see no sharks. Did you just hear my heart break? Because it did. It was still fun though. I learned about sharks and wore a wetsuit and still went into the cage.
One of the biggest attractions in CT is Table Mountain. Unluckily for us, the weather was not really cooperating with visiting the site! Just about every day it was closed because this super cool looking cloud was just sitting on top and also it was quite windy out...hence the closure. But LUCKY for us it opened on our last full day in CT!! It is SOO BEAUTIFUL up there. We took the cable car up, which does this cool floor spin thing that allows you to see 360 degree around. It was the perfect day weather wise and we set off on a little walk/hike. Well of course 5 mins into it my shoe broke...typical lol. Jessica and I turned back..with me walking around, looking like a total freak mind you, with no shoes on (my theory was that it looked less dumb walking around with NO shoes than with just one). Me and Jess still had a good time being silly tourists and making spectacles of ourselves...we may have taken a nap on a big rock...maybe...
There happened to have been many PCVs in CT while we were there. They we're staying too near us but we did manage to hang out. Especially at night. I'll tell you this. CT at night is FUN. We didn't NOT stay out dancing til 4am...
Overall I had a spectacular time with the ladies and have discovered that CT is EPIC. GO THERE IF YOU CAN!!!
It took me 27 hours to get home, which was NOT fun. Also, returning from a sunny paradise to a rainstorm mud pit sucked alot. One funny thing that happened was that Haley (another PCV) and I got a lift from this one man who once finding out we worked for Peace Corps, decided we were really spies. AWESOME. Except I'll tell ya RIGHT NOW there are no pertinent secrets to be found here lol. It was good to be back in my own house again though.
Since being "home" basically 2 things have happened. I became friends with my deaf neighbor who I estimate is roughly 16-18 years old. She has these SA sign language posters that she brings out to teach me...PS American sign language is NOT the same. It has been a really neat experience for me. Challenging though because some stuff she tells me is not on the posters...
The second thing is that my group finally had our Reconnect (a training workshop type thing that happens at your year mark but was REALLY delayed for us). It was great to see my other group mates again and hear about what they've been up too. We only have 5.5 more months!! CRAZY!
Other than that its pretty much been business as usual. Right now we are having a belated birthday dinner party for Parker (who is adorably caring for our neighbors puppy at this very moment).
I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Tis the Season
Hi All,
Today is Christmas Eve, so first off let me wish you all a Merry Christmas. Christmas here pretty much is like any other time of year, you wouldn't know it was near Christmas by looking as there are no festive lights, music, or any of the things we've come to know and love about this time of year. Also, its summer haha.
I've had a lot going on lately, but unfortunately I haven't had internet in 2 months (gasp!) and haven't been able to update. Work has taken a surprising turn since Novemeber. I decided that I would make some manuals to build up the capacity of my organizations faciliation of workshops and trainings. The first was on games and activities to play that can enhance workshops and make them more interactive. It also made me realize that Simon Says is a very difficult game to describe using only words...seriously, try it. The second was on facilitation skills. GROW is starting some new projects right about now and its my job to sort of organize them and keep them on track. To be honest I don't really understand what exactly I'm supposed to be doing, but I figure I'll figure it out. At least its something to do.
In November I also got my first taste of the African stomach parasite/amobea. Let me tell you, you don't want one of those! A bunch of people got sick around the same time but no one knows for sure what caused it. It was incredibly NOT fun at all. But a round of antibiotics later I was good as new. Hooray!
We had a really fun Thanksgiving this year. I went with some friends to Semonkong and celebrated with a bunch of PCVs. Here are the highlights:
-Donkey Pub Crawl. Its exactly what it sounds like. Irena, Karolina, Brandon and I made t-shirts and were a "team"...Team Top Deck and we were each one suit in a deck of cards. Karolina was also a pirate haha and she painted our faces. She also made us pom poms and wrote some cheers for us to perform on the crawl. Then we all set of atop donkeys to various local bars in the area. It was so much fun. Pictures will come later :)
-Beautiful scenery. Semonkong is beautiful, especially this time of year. And it had been raining a ton so the falls were BOOMING.
-Fun Turkey hats. Our friend Ronan had all these craft supplies and helped us make hilarious turkey hats to were to dinner. They were all different and really funny. Mine was a gangster in case you were wondering.
-Amazing food. The Lodge made a traditional Thanksgiving meal for us that was absolutely amazing. First, I've been dreaming about turkey for about a year and a half now, so that was a major plus of dinner. Here's the menu: a carrot mouse with a leek and scallion sauce (soooo good), then mashed potatoes, grean beans, bread, gravy, cranberry sauce, turkey, stuffing, and fresh salad. For dessert, which we barely had room for but somehow managed to eat, homemade pumkin pie and homemade vanilla ice cream. Yum.
In the beginning of December the High Altitude Marathon was held in Mokhotlong. My friend Eric from TTL ran in it. It was really fun to watch. Eric did an amazing job and made it in under 4 hours! After the marathon we a had a little party at TTL with Rocio, Kevin, Eric, and I. We ate lots of food and drank tons of beer (hey, Eric had been training for months and therefore a drunken celebration was called for).
This past weekend, GROW had their annual party. I managed to convince all the PCVs and assorted white people to come. So Me, Rocio, Sara, Parker, Kevin and Eric rolled into the party together. It was a total blast! We danced to crazy Bastho music and basically just danced the night away...with the help of some local beers. It was a good end to the year and a good opportunity to interact with some locals in a fun way.
Well, I've pretty much said all I wanted to say. I'm headed down to Melissa's house in Mafeteng today so we can leave for Cape Town tomorrow! Can't wait!
Merry Christmas!
Today is Christmas Eve, so first off let me wish you all a Merry Christmas. Christmas here pretty much is like any other time of year, you wouldn't know it was near Christmas by looking as there are no festive lights, music, or any of the things we've come to know and love about this time of year. Also, its summer haha.
I've had a lot going on lately, but unfortunately I haven't had internet in 2 months (gasp!) and haven't been able to update. Work has taken a surprising turn since Novemeber. I decided that I would make some manuals to build up the capacity of my organizations faciliation of workshops and trainings. The first was on games and activities to play that can enhance workshops and make them more interactive. It also made me realize that Simon Says is a very difficult game to describe using only words...seriously, try it. The second was on facilitation skills. GROW is starting some new projects right about now and its my job to sort of organize them and keep them on track. To be honest I don't really understand what exactly I'm supposed to be doing, but I figure I'll figure it out. At least its something to do.
In November I also got my first taste of the African stomach parasite/amobea. Let me tell you, you don't want one of those! A bunch of people got sick around the same time but no one knows for sure what caused it. It was incredibly NOT fun at all. But a round of antibiotics later I was good as new. Hooray!
We had a really fun Thanksgiving this year. I went with some friends to Semonkong and celebrated with a bunch of PCVs. Here are the highlights:
-Donkey Pub Crawl. Its exactly what it sounds like. Irena, Karolina, Brandon and I made t-shirts and were a "team"...Team Top Deck and we were each one suit in a deck of cards. Karolina was also a pirate haha and she painted our faces. She also made us pom poms and wrote some cheers for us to perform on the crawl. Then we all set of atop donkeys to various local bars in the area. It was so much fun. Pictures will come later :)
-Beautiful scenery. Semonkong is beautiful, especially this time of year. And it had been raining a ton so the falls were BOOMING.
-Fun Turkey hats. Our friend Ronan had all these craft supplies and helped us make hilarious turkey hats to were to dinner. They were all different and really funny. Mine was a gangster in case you were wondering.
-Amazing food. The Lodge made a traditional Thanksgiving meal for us that was absolutely amazing. First, I've been dreaming about turkey for about a year and a half now, so that was a major plus of dinner. Here's the menu: a carrot mouse with a leek and scallion sauce (soooo good), then mashed potatoes, grean beans, bread, gravy, cranberry sauce, turkey, stuffing, and fresh salad. For dessert, which we barely had room for but somehow managed to eat, homemade pumkin pie and homemade vanilla ice cream. Yum.
In the beginning of December the High Altitude Marathon was held in Mokhotlong. My friend Eric from TTL ran in it. It was really fun to watch. Eric did an amazing job and made it in under 4 hours! After the marathon we a had a little party at TTL with Rocio, Kevin, Eric, and I. We ate lots of food and drank tons of beer (hey, Eric had been training for months and therefore a drunken celebration was called for).
This past weekend, GROW had their annual party. I managed to convince all the PCVs and assorted white people to come. So Me, Rocio, Sara, Parker, Kevin and Eric rolled into the party together. It was a total blast! We danced to crazy Bastho music and basically just danced the night away...with the help of some local beers. It was a good end to the year and a good opportunity to interact with some locals in a fun way.
Well, I've pretty much said all I wanted to say. I'm headed down to Melissa's house in Mafeteng today so we can leave for Cape Town tomorrow! Can't wait!
Merry Christmas!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
The life and times of Kristine: an update
I know its been a really long time since my last update, clearly I haven't gotten any better at keeping this blog updated.
Since my last update many things have changed. All of the volunteers who went to America returned, with the exception of one. Its been great having them back. Luckily for me, my friend Rocio recently moved into my district and we're essentially neighbors! Its been amazing having her around.
October was a pretty eventful month for me. I spent some awesome times with the people in my district, especially Kelsey and Sara. (Although Kelsey is saddly living in a new district now). We all needed to de-stress a bit and had some spontaneous adventures together that I can't really get into the details of right now...Peace Corps rules and whatnot. But it involved a super fun fake bachelorette party, mixed drinks, and shopping :)
I also went on a mini vacation to Bleomfontein with Irena. We mainly went so we could go to the zoo. Turns out that the zoo is kind of ridiculous. They don't seem to know very much about the animals they have there. For example, the leopard area. There was an "informative" sign outside the leopard area read "spotted leopard/cugar/puma." FALSE. Those cats are not the same as the zoo would have you believe. Other animals areas were unlabeled, or labeled incorrectly. But it was fun all the same. A highlight was when we first got there and there was a man cleaning some small cages and changing the lightbulb in a snake cage. Sensing an opportunity, I asked if I could hold the snake (not thinking at all that he would say yes...its a zoo, not a petting zoo after all). But to my surprise the guy was like "ok." So I got to hold the Commn Corn Snake at the zoo. Oh Africa....
I got to do some actual work during October as well. At the beginning of the month I finally got to hold my Peer Educator Training Workshop. I had written the workshop about 2 months earlier but it was cancelled on me again. Sara and Kelsey attended it to help out and be supportive which was nice. I worked really hard on it and was really happy with the outcome. I taught them about being a leader, leadership skills, communication skills, and important qualities in a Peer Educator. I'm hoping that its something that can be repeated by GROW after I leave, because the Peer Educator Trainings that they currently hold are not particularly effective or appropriate. I also met with my youth group a few times (in Spetember I think though). In our first meeting we made tortillas at my house. Many students live alone or with extended family and are responsible for their own cooking and traditional bread can be a lot of time and work for them to make. Tortillas are fast and easy to make and require less ingredients (and therefore money) to make so it suits them. They had a good time making them. At another meeting we did arts adn crafts. We cut out their first initial from cardboars and then collaged it with magazine cutouts of things that describe them/they like. It was really funny and they get something to hang in their houses as a bonus.
One of the most fun work related things I got to do was go to a former PC Volunteer Lorian's Habitat for Humanity event in Maseru district. There were a bunch of houses built in one village and there were tons of volunteers to help complete them. Most of the PC volunteers were at one house where we plastered the walls. It was so much fun. Its surprisingly hard work and it was just a blast to hang out with people and help build a house for a family in need.
Some misellaneous stuff that have happened in October were crazy. First, I had my first official Couch Surfer stay (Couch Surfering is through an internet site where people let you stay at their place for free which is great for traveling on a budget). He was a really nice guy and it was fun having someone new to talk to for a day. I unfortunately had to take a lot of public transport and it was certainly eventful. For my 4.5 hour taxi ride to BB (closest camptown) I had to ride with the biggest, grossest SHEEP behind me..less than a foot from my head. It was unpleasant to say the least...they smell...BAD. It took up the whole first row of the taxi. But its makes for a good "this one time in Africa.." story I guess. One the return trip, on the route my taxi broke down 3 times due to engine overheating. The driver, while pouring river water into the engine to cool it down, sprayed boiling dirty engine water all over my purse...I was less than enthused about the events of the ride.
November hasn't been too eventful. I happened to be in Maseru while Irena's mom was visiting and so I got to meet her have lunch at this amazing place in Ladybrand. Her mom is so cute and I'm so glad I got to meet her. I'm currently in Maseru, due to leave this afternoon and it is unlikely that I'll get to return anytime soon. Policies have been changing a lot lately and PC has decided to close the Training Center where we stay here in Maseru. They are doing it because they want us all to be safe and Maseru is becoming a problem. But no need to worry folks, I've lived in much more dangerous places, and in Mokhotlong there is a greater danger of being ran into by a sheep than attacked by a criminal. :)
Looking forward to Thanksgiving and my Christmas/New Years vaca in Cape Town with my girl friends! Miss you all <3
Side note: its technically summer here now (opposite seasons) which is great, however it snowed in October and 3 days ago it snowed again and was so cold I had to sit in front of my heater lol. Seriously Mother Nature, get it together.
p.p.s Thanks Aunt Myrtie for the package! I loved it <3
Since my last update many things have changed. All of the volunteers who went to America returned, with the exception of one. Its been great having them back. Luckily for me, my friend Rocio recently moved into my district and we're essentially neighbors! Its been amazing having her around.
October was a pretty eventful month for me. I spent some awesome times with the people in my district, especially Kelsey and Sara. (Although Kelsey is saddly living in a new district now). We all needed to de-stress a bit and had some spontaneous adventures together that I can't really get into the details of right now...Peace Corps rules and whatnot. But it involved a super fun fake bachelorette party, mixed drinks, and shopping :)
I also went on a mini vacation to Bleomfontein with Irena. We mainly went so we could go to the zoo. Turns out that the zoo is kind of ridiculous. They don't seem to know very much about the animals they have there. For example, the leopard area. There was an "informative" sign outside the leopard area read "spotted leopard/cugar/puma." FALSE. Those cats are not the same as the zoo would have you believe. Other animals areas were unlabeled, or labeled incorrectly. But it was fun all the same. A highlight was when we first got there and there was a man cleaning some small cages and changing the lightbulb in a snake cage. Sensing an opportunity, I asked if I could hold the snake (not thinking at all that he would say yes...its a zoo, not a petting zoo after all). But to my surprise the guy was like "ok." So I got to hold the Commn Corn Snake at the zoo. Oh Africa....
I got to do some actual work during October as well. At the beginning of the month I finally got to hold my Peer Educator Training Workshop. I had written the workshop about 2 months earlier but it was cancelled on me again. Sara and Kelsey attended it to help out and be supportive which was nice. I worked really hard on it and was really happy with the outcome. I taught them about being a leader, leadership skills, communication skills, and important qualities in a Peer Educator. I'm hoping that its something that can be repeated by GROW after I leave, because the Peer Educator Trainings that they currently hold are not particularly effective or appropriate. I also met with my youth group a few times (in Spetember I think though). In our first meeting we made tortillas at my house. Many students live alone or with extended family and are responsible for their own cooking and traditional bread can be a lot of time and work for them to make. Tortillas are fast and easy to make and require less ingredients (and therefore money) to make so it suits them. They had a good time making them. At another meeting we did arts adn crafts. We cut out their first initial from cardboars and then collaged it with magazine cutouts of things that describe them/they like. It was really funny and they get something to hang in their houses as a bonus.
One of the most fun work related things I got to do was go to a former PC Volunteer Lorian's Habitat for Humanity event in Maseru district. There were a bunch of houses built in one village and there were tons of volunteers to help complete them. Most of the PC volunteers were at one house where we plastered the walls. It was so much fun. Its surprisingly hard work and it was just a blast to hang out with people and help build a house for a family in need.
Some misellaneous stuff that have happened in October were crazy. First, I had my first official Couch Surfer stay (Couch Surfering is through an internet site where people let you stay at their place for free which is great for traveling on a budget). He was a really nice guy and it was fun having someone new to talk to for a day. I unfortunately had to take a lot of public transport and it was certainly eventful. For my 4.5 hour taxi ride to BB (closest camptown) I had to ride with the biggest, grossest SHEEP behind me..less than a foot from my head. It was unpleasant to say the least...they smell...BAD. It took up the whole first row of the taxi. But its makes for a good "this one time in Africa.." story I guess. One the return trip, on the route my taxi broke down 3 times due to engine overheating. The driver, while pouring river water into the engine to cool it down, sprayed boiling dirty engine water all over my purse...I was less than enthused about the events of the ride.
November hasn't been too eventful. I happened to be in Maseru while Irena's mom was visiting and so I got to meet her have lunch at this amazing place in Ladybrand. Her mom is so cute and I'm so glad I got to meet her. I'm currently in Maseru, due to leave this afternoon and it is unlikely that I'll get to return anytime soon. Policies have been changing a lot lately and PC has decided to close the Training Center where we stay here in Maseru. They are doing it because they want us all to be safe and Maseru is becoming a problem. But no need to worry folks, I've lived in much more dangerous places, and in Mokhotlong there is a greater danger of being ran into by a sheep than attacked by a criminal. :)
Looking forward to Thanksgiving and my Christmas/New Years vaca in Cape Town with my girl friends! Miss you all <3
Side note: its technically summer here now (opposite seasons) which is great, however it snowed in October and 3 days ago it snowed again and was so cold I had to sit in front of my heater lol. Seriously Mother Nature, get it together.
p.p.s Thanks Aunt Myrtie for the package! I loved it <3
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Hard Times
So by this point I'm sure most of you have heard about what happened here earlier this month. Our friend and fellow Peace Corps Volunteer was shot and killed. It was a very difficult time for our Peace Corps family. The majority of volunteers came to Maseru to be together and there was a beautiful memorial service for Tom as well. A handful of volunteers chose to go back to America for counceling and hopefully all of them will return, but our thoughts are with them now. Things are slowly returning to normal, but unfortunately things will never be the same. But I wanted to quickly update you all and say thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers over the past few weeks.
Love you!
Love you!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Footprints in the sand...in Mozambique
Well, first of all I feel like I should begin by stating that the title of this post was fully stolen from Melissa's facebook photo album of our trip. Now that that's out of the way I want to tell you all about it!
Melissa and I just got back from our Moz (that's what the cool kid's are callin' it) vacation the other day. It was spectacular! We took the bus from Bloemfontein, which is about an hour from Lesotho. We decided to kill time waiting for the bus (11:10 pm)at the mall...so to paint you a mental picture there was me and Melissa with huge backpacks, a tent, and various bags, essentially hiking through the mall. We looked ridiculous, but it was just as funny to us as the people who stared at us lol. Our first bus was 2 hours late, but eventually we made it all the way to Maputo in Moz. We only stayed for one night though before taking the 5:30 am shuttle to Tofo.
Tofo was so much fun! One of the coolest things about Tofo was the fact that the whole Tofo area was built on sand! The roads are sand, backyards, markets, everything! We stayed right of the beach and pitched our tent in the sand too. On our first full day we went snorkelling and were up close and personal with WHALE SHARKS! It was pretty much the coolest thing ever! We were so close to them! We also saw dolphins :) While in Tofo, we also watched the final matches of World Cup, shopped in the market, and met really cool travelers.
Next we headed further north up to Vilankulo. To get there we had to take a few taxis and even a ferry boat! It was funny because on the ferry we'd hit shallows and teh man in front would have to use a big stick and push us through. We had a super amazing time in Vilankulo. Our backpackers was really laid back and the people staying there were really fun. On our first day we decided to go snorkelling again, but this time we took a dhow boat (sort of like a sail boat but different) to the Bazaruto Islands to 2 Mile Reef. Melissa and I had the whole Island to ourselves pretty much. We walked the beach and then went in the warm water to see some fish. Before we left the backpackers, and before we went in the water we had been repeatedly warned that "the reef is sharp." But aparently that didn't quite sink in with us...until we hit the reef and left the water bleeding lol. The reef surrounded the island, and to get in and out you had to step on the reef. Melissa cut her feet and I cut up my hand. But I saw an octapus, a neon blue lobster, and tons of fish. Then our guides made us a lunch of fresh crabs and salads...delicious. That night we went to this local place called Mohammed's and had the best calamari and crabs ever, which were fresh from the market that day. The next day we found out that just about everone from our backpackers was going out to the islands so we managed to squeeze our way into that trip too. This time we went to a different island that had incredible sand dunes and all kinds of cool fish. It was really fun to bond with the other travellers. Unfortunately I got sick that night, but luckily it didn't last long. Our last day in Vilankulo was a lazy day which was nice.
Next we took public transport back to Tofo for a night en route back to Maputo and Lesotho. Our shuttle left Tofo at 4 am so instead of going to bed we just stayed up and went dancing all night :)
Our last day in Maputo was pretty nice. We went to the market and got lots of crafts and ate good food and basically had a good time. We really didn't want to leave though! But sadly all good things must come to an end and we had to return to our Lesotho lives...and the freezing weather....
Melissa and I just got back from our Moz (that's what the cool kid's are callin' it) vacation the other day. It was spectacular! We took the bus from Bloemfontein, which is about an hour from Lesotho. We decided to kill time waiting for the bus (11:10 pm)at the mall...so to paint you a mental picture there was me and Melissa with huge backpacks, a tent, and various bags, essentially hiking through the mall. We looked ridiculous, but it was just as funny to us as the people who stared at us lol. Our first bus was 2 hours late, but eventually we made it all the way to Maputo in Moz. We only stayed for one night though before taking the 5:30 am shuttle to Tofo.
Tofo was so much fun! One of the coolest things about Tofo was the fact that the whole Tofo area was built on sand! The roads are sand, backyards, markets, everything! We stayed right of the beach and pitched our tent in the sand too. On our first full day we went snorkelling and were up close and personal with WHALE SHARKS! It was pretty much the coolest thing ever! We were so close to them! We also saw dolphins :) While in Tofo, we also watched the final matches of World Cup, shopped in the market, and met really cool travelers.
Next we headed further north up to Vilankulo. To get there we had to take a few taxis and even a ferry boat! It was funny because on the ferry we'd hit shallows and teh man in front would have to use a big stick and push us through. We had a super amazing time in Vilankulo. Our backpackers was really laid back and the people staying there were really fun. On our first day we decided to go snorkelling again, but this time we took a dhow boat (sort of like a sail boat but different) to the Bazaruto Islands to 2 Mile Reef. Melissa and I had the whole Island to ourselves pretty much. We walked the beach and then went in the warm water to see some fish. Before we left the backpackers, and before we went in the water we had been repeatedly warned that "the reef is sharp." But aparently that didn't quite sink in with us...until we hit the reef and left the water bleeding lol. The reef surrounded the island, and to get in and out you had to step on the reef. Melissa cut her feet and I cut up my hand. But I saw an octapus, a neon blue lobster, and tons of fish. Then our guides made us a lunch of fresh crabs and salads...delicious. That night we went to this local place called Mohammed's and had the best calamari and crabs ever, which were fresh from the market that day. The next day we found out that just about everone from our backpackers was going out to the islands so we managed to squeeze our way into that trip too. This time we went to a different island that had incredible sand dunes and all kinds of cool fish. It was really fun to bond with the other travellers. Unfortunately I got sick that night, but luckily it didn't last long. Our last day in Vilankulo was a lazy day which was nice.
Next we took public transport back to Tofo for a night en route back to Maputo and Lesotho. Our shuttle left Tofo at 4 am so instead of going to bed we just stayed up and went dancing all night :)
Our last day in Maputo was pretty nice. We went to the market and got lots of crafts and ate good food and basically had a good time. We really didn't want to leave though! But sadly all good things must come to an end and we had to return to our Lesotho lives...and the freezing weather....
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
A Good Day with Nteboheng
So I'm breaking my pattern of waiting weeks in between postings because this is a bit of a slow week and I had a really fun morning.
So I've mentioned in this blog before about the other NGO in Mokhotlong called Touching Tiny Lives (TTL). TTL is an organization that works with malnurished and sick babies, which is pretty amazing. It's nice because I get to go over there whenever I want and play with the adorable babies...they're REALLY cute. This is all just background so you understand about my morning. About 2 months ago TTL took in a little girl named Nteboheng. She is turning 5 years old this weekend actually. When Nteboheng came to TTL she was just shy of 5 years old and weighed only 9kg (or roughly 20 lbs). It was heartbreaking to see her. She was SO thin and weak and frightened about being away from home. In addition, she was really sick and is HIV positive.
However, since coming to TTL Nteboheng has made amazing progress. She has gained weigh and is really outgoing and just plain adorable. She happens to be the oldest child at TTL, and as a result has very little to do during the day. So last week I decided that I would visit her at least once a week for some one-on-one "big girl" time. Today was the first day.
I brought a coloring book (thanks mom) and some crayons so we could color together. It was really fun. Nteboheng is still really young so she doesn't speak any english so communication is interesting with my limited sesotho. She's really smart and she would repeat the names of the colors we were using. I brough some nail polish and painted her fingers and toes too. She loved it! It was so cute watching her hobble around, feining wet nails, to show the women working with the other babies her new nails. It was pretty much the highlight of my whole month just wrestling around and tickling and playing with this little girl. The most hilarious part was watching her play with her doll. She was acting like a typical basotho woman with it. She put the doll on her back and then tied it around her with a little blanket just like the women here do with real babies. I can't wait to go back with my camera and film her doing it.
I'm really excited to spend more time with her because she's such a sweet little girl. Next on the agenda is outside playtime, and finger paint if I can get my hands on some! Overall it was a fabulous day and I thought I would share it with you guys!
TTL has a blog as well if you're interested in what they are doing check them out at touchingtinylives.blogspot.com
So I've mentioned in this blog before about the other NGO in Mokhotlong called Touching Tiny Lives (TTL). TTL is an organization that works with malnurished and sick babies, which is pretty amazing. It's nice because I get to go over there whenever I want and play with the adorable babies...they're REALLY cute. This is all just background so you understand about my morning. About 2 months ago TTL took in a little girl named Nteboheng. She is turning 5 years old this weekend actually. When Nteboheng came to TTL she was just shy of 5 years old and weighed only 9kg (or roughly 20 lbs). It was heartbreaking to see her. She was SO thin and weak and frightened about being away from home. In addition, she was really sick and is HIV positive.
However, since coming to TTL Nteboheng has made amazing progress. She has gained weigh and is really outgoing and just plain adorable. She happens to be the oldest child at TTL, and as a result has very little to do during the day. So last week I decided that I would visit her at least once a week for some one-on-one "big girl" time. Today was the first day.
I brought a coloring book (thanks mom) and some crayons so we could color together. It was really fun. Nteboheng is still really young so she doesn't speak any english so communication is interesting with my limited sesotho. She's really smart and she would repeat the names of the colors we were using. I brough some nail polish and painted her fingers and toes too. She loved it! It was so cute watching her hobble around, feining wet nails, to show the women working with the other babies her new nails. It was pretty much the highlight of my whole month just wrestling around and tickling and playing with this little girl. The most hilarious part was watching her play with her doll. She was acting like a typical basotho woman with it. She put the doll on her back and then tied it around her with a little blanket just like the women here do with real babies. I can't wait to go back with my camera and film her doing it.
I'm really excited to spend more time with her because she's such a sweet little girl. Next on the agenda is outside playtime, and finger paint if I can get my hands on some! Overall it was a fabulous day and I thought I would share it with you guys!
TTL has a blog as well if you're interested in what they are doing check them out at touchingtinylives.blogspot.com
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
April is Gone...
So it's already May...Cinco de Mayo actually. I really had very little going on this past month so this is more of a random update.
I spent the first two weeks after coming back from vacation battling a nasty cold...and NO I did not have malaria if that's what you were thinking. During that time I did some business stuff with the mico-loan project with TTL at GROW, but not much else. I did however have a pretty major victory though. Here's the story: GROW was putting on a hastily-put-together HIV/AIDS Sports Tournament in Malfiloane (west of me). I made some inquiries about it because I was curious what they were going to talk about and found that they had no plan, so clearly I needed to insert my skills. Well during the meeting with the GROW guys I managed to convince them, after a heated debate, that we should distribute condoms and do a condom demonstration. It was like a mega high-five moment because culturally Basotho are really closeted about sex related things. The event itself wasn't my favorite time. It's REALLY cold in Malefiloane for starters. But the day began with a road race which was fun to watch. Many people were running either 4 or 10K and not even wearning shoes...dang. But everyone had a good time. I ended up doing a condom demo for a group of like 40 married people, the girl sitting directly in front of me was only like 16 and had a baby. It was really fun for me and was the first time I had ever done one so I was excited about it. The real highlight for me was after when everyone was gathered around the MC table and an older women walked up and grabbed a handful of condoms in front of like 200 people. You have no idea how huge that is...I was super pumped, but obviously I sat there calmly as if this were a normal occurance that didn't surprise me at all. One of the GROW guys even walked around passing the condoms out.
I also managed to meet some new people this month. I randomly got a phone call on Friday afternoon from a girl who got my number through the PC grapevine. So long story short, I had two girls from Holand spend the night at my place. They were super sweet and have been traveling around Southern Africa for a bit. It was nice to chat with them about their experiences and stuff. I had Sara sleep over too just in case they wierd, which as it turns out, they weren't.
My lifeskills classes have been going pretty well, alhtough my 6th graders are not very well behaved. I had them all do an exercise where they had to draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grow up. Pretty much all the girls wanted to be either a nurse or a teacher, whereas the boys were either doctor, police, or soldiers. I did have an interesting question put into my anonymous question box last week. One of my grade 6ers put in a question asking for help because the people she is staying with, because her parents are working in South Africa, accused her of stealing money and are beating her for it. It sucks. My friend got one the other day from a little girl whose uncle and father are repeatedly raping her. We're both trying to find the best ways to help our students though.
I'm pretty sure that's all that really happened this month. I've read some really good books, hung out with the awesome volunteers at TTL.
thats all for now I guess.
I spent the first two weeks after coming back from vacation battling a nasty cold...and NO I did not have malaria if that's what you were thinking. During that time I did some business stuff with the mico-loan project with TTL at GROW, but not much else. I did however have a pretty major victory though. Here's the story: GROW was putting on a hastily-put-together HIV/AIDS Sports Tournament in Malfiloane (west of me). I made some inquiries about it because I was curious what they were going to talk about and found that they had no plan, so clearly I needed to insert my skills. Well during the meeting with the GROW guys I managed to convince them, after a heated debate, that we should distribute condoms and do a condom demonstration. It was like a mega high-five moment because culturally Basotho are really closeted about sex related things. The event itself wasn't my favorite time. It's REALLY cold in Malefiloane for starters. But the day began with a road race which was fun to watch. Many people were running either 4 or 10K and not even wearning shoes...dang. But everyone had a good time. I ended up doing a condom demo for a group of like 40 married people, the girl sitting directly in front of me was only like 16 and had a baby. It was really fun for me and was the first time I had ever done one so I was excited about it. The real highlight for me was after when everyone was gathered around the MC table and an older women walked up and grabbed a handful of condoms in front of like 200 people. You have no idea how huge that is...I was super pumped, but obviously I sat there calmly as if this were a normal occurance that didn't surprise me at all. One of the GROW guys even walked around passing the condoms out.
I also managed to meet some new people this month. I randomly got a phone call on Friday afternoon from a girl who got my number through the PC grapevine. So long story short, I had two girls from Holand spend the night at my place. They were super sweet and have been traveling around Southern Africa for a bit. It was nice to chat with them about their experiences and stuff. I had Sara sleep over too just in case they wierd, which as it turns out, they weren't.
My lifeskills classes have been going pretty well, alhtough my 6th graders are not very well behaved. I had them all do an exercise where they had to draw pictures of what they wanted to be when they grow up. Pretty much all the girls wanted to be either a nurse or a teacher, whereas the boys were either doctor, police, or soldiers. I did have an interesting question put into my anonymous question box last week. One of my grade 6ers put in a question asking for help because the people she is staying with, because her parents are working in South Africa, accused her of stealing money and are beating her for it. It sucks. My friend got one the other day from a little girl whose uncle and father are repeatedly raping her. We're both trying to find the best ways to help our students though.
I'm pretty sure that's all that really happened this month. I've read some really good books, hung out with the awesome volunteers at TTL.
thats all for now I guess.
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